The present invention relates to a system for the high speed printing of a large number of magnetic tapes (so called recorded tapes) from a master magnetic tape on which signals are already recorded.
Devices for printing or copying signals by a tape-to-tape copying process from a master magnetic tape (hereinafter referred to as a master tape) on which the signals are already recorded in a mirror image form to a slave magnetic tape (hereinafter referred to as a slave tape) using either a magnetic printing or thermal printing method has been proposed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,592,977. In such devices, the slave tape usually has a length or recording time several times longer than the recording time of a program which is previously recorded on the master tape and which is to be copied onto the slave tape, so that the printing operations are repeated a number of times to generate a large number of volumes or successive recorded tapes on the slave tape and, thereafter, such successive volumes or recorded tape are severed from each other at the joints between the repeatedly copies program.
Since the tapes having different lengths are often sequentially used as the slave tape (or so-called pancake tape), the number of volumes or recorded tapes that can be produced from the slave tape for each replacement of the slave tape has to be previously calculated and set and thereafter the printing operation is carried out so that a maximum number of recorded tapes can be obtained from the slave tape.
However, since, as described above, the allowable number of the recorded tapes has to be calculated for each replacement of the slave tape and then the printing system is set according to the result of such calculation, before the printing operation can be carried out, the described procedure is very troublesome. Further if a calculation error occurs, a length of the slave tape longer than one recorded or copied tape is destroyed at a part near a tape end or the printing system commences a new printing operation when less than the required length of the slave tape remains so that operating time is wasted.